A Jewish mom learning every day; often the hard way.

Mommy

I once had the honor of enjoying a shiur by Rabbi Shimon Green from Jerusalem who was visiting New Jersey. He said that everyone has “that person”; ” That person that drives you up a wall, that you simply cannot stand. That every little thing they do is so annoying it is like fingers on…

I didn’t blog about Purim this year. Those of you who have read my earlier posts know that it is not my favorite holiday. But this year is different; we are in the midst of a move. A big one. To Eretz Yisroel. I am excited about it, and looking forward to every aspect,…

I have seven children. (You might have picked up on that by now.) Five of them are of one mold. Of course they have their differences. Of course they are each their own individual “soul print” on the world, with unique traits, quirks, strengths and challenges. But five of them look so much alike it…

I have been asked what I want for Mother’s Day this year. The only thing that has come to mind so far is sleep. We will see if I come up with something better. There are a number of resources out there with good ideas for Mother’s Day, as well as some giveaways. For those…

I haven’t been posting much on the progress towards Purim. I have pretty good reasons, both compelling and dramatic. I was a “key” witness in a high-profile case in another country. Yeah, that sounds like a whopper of an excuse, right? Well, it happens to be true. I prefer the drama of seven children and…

Last year I posted three Purim posts. One on hamentashen, one about costumes and the third an after-the-fact accounting as to why I had a rotten Purim. This is a reprint of #2. Please re-visit #’s 1 and 3 as well. The third one is my advice to myself on how not to screw it…

I have an old friend (can you say that after nine years? What if it feels like you have always been friends?) that I rarely get to spend time with. We are different ages, at different stages of our lives with different schedules. Recently we got a precious hour to catch up over some of…

Commenting on my last vacation post, Miriyummy pointed out that when we go on a family vacation I am “the facilitator of fun” much more than I am actually having it. At least most of the time. I have found over the years that I have to find the pockets of pleasure for myself within…

Last week, Marjorie Ingall wrote an article in the online Jewish magazine Tablet that made me quite upset. I wanted to scream from the rooftops via this blog. While I expressed my opinion quite unequivocally there in the comments section, I deferred writing about it myself. First of all, I have never seen anything good come…